PHILADELPHIA, Pa. –The Duke University wrestling team could not overcome an early deficit as it dropped a 24-14 dual to Drexel Saturday evening. Redshirt sophomore Conner Hartmann headlined the match with a triple overtime win over No. 14 Brandon Palik at 197 pounds.

Much like the first match of the day at Rider, Duke (5-10) fell behind 15-0 to Drexel (4-15) after three bouts and was unable claw its way back for the win. The Dragons got a forfeit at 125 and a disqualification on Duke at 141 to grab the big lead.

Hartmann, facing his sixth top-20 opponent of the season, was outstanding throughout the 10-minute match as he grinded out the 7-4 decision over Palik. All even at 3-3 after regulation, both Hartmann and

Palik traded escapes in the second overtime to make it 4-4 heading into the third extra session.

Starting down in the third overtime, Hartmann quickly escaped and then got the takedown for his second top-20 win of the season. Hartmann is now 15-7 on the year and 10-5 in duals

Rookie Connor Bass picked up Duke’s first win of the night with a 2-0 decision over Matt Cimato at 149 pounds. Bass, on top to start second period, built his riding time to two minutes and elected to remain on top in the third en route to his 11th win of the year.

Riding a five-match win streak, redshirt junior Immanuel Kerr-Brown dropped a heartbreaker 9-8 to Austin Sommer. The wrestlers traded points throughout the seven minutes with Kerr-Brown holding an 8-7 lead with 15 seconds left as Sommer scored a takedown in the final seconds for the one-point decision.

At 165 pounds, Marcus Cain garnered three points for Duke with a 3-1 decision over Jason Fugiel. Just like Cain had done in his two previous bouts, the redshirt sophomore used an early takedown and rode out the match for the decision.

Redshirt sophomore Andrew DeHart was a new face at 174 pounds for the Blue Devils. The redshirt sophomore scored an early takedown and three back points for a 5-1 lead but Kevin Matyas rode well in the second and was able to get the pin and six more points for the Dragons.

True freshman Jacob Kasper had a strong showing at 184 pounds for Duke. The Lexington, Ohio native scored an early takedown and never looked back to earn his 11th win of his rookie season with a 7-1 decision over Bryan Sternlieb.

Returning for his second match since an injury, senior Brian Self capped off the evening with a 5-2 decision over Joe Giorgio. The veteran heavyweight, leading 3-1 lead late in the match, iced his sixth victory of the year with a late takedown.

The Blue Devils return to action Feb. 5 against Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. in Card Gymnasium.